Boy Giant, by Michael Morpurgo

Title: Boy Giant, Son of Gulliver
Author: Michael Morpurgo
Illustrator: Michael Foreman
Genre/ issues: Middle grade, refugee stories, reimagined classics.

I’m a sucker for a book which takes a classic narrative and gives it a contemporary twist, so a rewrite of Gulliver’s Travels should be right up my alley, right? Well, yes and no. I appreciate the message around finding your place in a new world as a refugee. The multiple narrators convey an interesting story, the illustrations and typesetting are fab, and the voice of the eponymous Boy Giant, Afghani refugee Omar, is authentic and linguistically well represented. I think there will be some readers to whom this book will speak loudly and powerfully, but I’m just not one of them. I’m a firm believer in the idea that when the right people and books come together, Magic happens, and for me, there was no magic here. If I was still in a library, though, I’d have no hesitation recommending it to younger readers. I think the interplay between classic British literature and migrant story that happens in this text is really interesting, and I’m glad I read it. It would probably have helped, truth be told, if I actually enjoyed Gullivers Travels!

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 6/52

Happy reading,

George, by Alex Gino

Title: George
Author: Alex Gino
Genre/ issues: Middle grade, queer, trans.

I’m really interested in books which represent queer characters and stories. It’s been gratifying to see many more of these being published for YA readers in recent years, but there’s not been a lot for younger readers. I picked up George from a cute little bookshop just near Central Park in New York last year. and have just gotten around to reading it. It’s totally lovely. For middle graders who might be questioning their own gender identity, it provides an insight into what sharing that story with the people you love might look like. For young people who might find themselves dealing with someone “different” in their lives, it provides a sense of empathy. A sweet, sensitively handled story of a girl discovering how to tell her family and friends that her name is Melissa and not George. If you’ve got kids in your life trying to get their heads around what the T stands for in the acronym, this book is the perfect gentle and non-confrontational read for them.

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 5/52

Happy reading,

The Fowls Twins, by Eioin Colfer

Title: The Fowl Twins
Author: Eoin Colfer
Genre/ issues: Action adventure. Mystery. Suspense. Fantasy characters reimagined. Precocious kids doing precocious things.

The official blurb for this book reads:

“One week after their eleventh birthday, the Fowl twins–scientist Myles, and Beckett, the force of nature–are left in the care of house security (NANNI) for a single night. In that time they befriend a troll who has clawed his way through the earth’s crust to the surface. Unfortunately for the troll, he is being chased by a nefarious nobleman and an interrogating nun, who both need the magical creature for their own gain, as well as a fairy-in-training who has been assigned to protect him.

The boys and their new troll best friend escape and go on the run. Along the way they get shot at, kidnapped, buried, arrested, threatened, killed (temporarily), and discover that the strongest bond in the world is not the one forged by covalent electrons in adjacent atoms, but the one that exists between a pair of twins.”

If you’re familiar with the world of Artemis Fowl, then you’ll know what you’re getting into with this new series about Artemis’ younger siblings. I loved the original books, and this is a great new addition to the world in which fairies are an organised covert military force, and kids (at least the Fowls, anyway) have serious technological and political smarts. The Fowl Twins is as smart and funny as its predecessors, in is a cracking read for anyone who loves a good twist on traditional fairy lore. I’m looking forward to what comes next for The Regrettables!

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 1/52

Happy reading,